Generator for producing a combustible oil gas



Aug. 19, 1952 w. J. VAN HI-:ECKERENv ET AL GENERATOR FOR PRODUCIGA COMBUSTIBLE OIL GAS Filed May 20, 1946 (Yf-MHTTT GBPAD .MIV 11035117267 ERA/ER -tim'e a solidz residue comes ofi.

w improve oil-gas' generators; as4 a Iroom-17132 of' whichv they-:do not eihibit the'saiddrwwba-ck or onl'y't'o'` Patented Aug. 19, 1952 GENERATOR FOR PRDUCING 'A COMBUSTIBLEQIL GAS tional; Bank. and C,onn.,.astr1 1stee Trust Company, Hartford.

Application lwa-x20; 1946, Serial- 'Nop'm w I'i thevNetlierIands November 1,1945;

i 3.l Claims. (C

Itfiis'known thatby heating'liquid;` coinb-ustiblef f'uel'spvapours'can. ebe made from these,fuel's..-.Azer-V far' asthese fuels have a finali boiling' point' of' less: than 30021to 350.o` CL this vaporisati'o-n' take-1 place Without. chemical alra'ci'ons.4 occurl ring in: the'fuell howeve'r; the; boi'lingf pointi exceeds the` said? limitllcrack-ingoccurs arule. i In this case-longl mol'ecules are. trans.- formed: into shorter molecu'les, 'but at: the. same Consequently, the use of' anoil-gas' from' a fuel 'having afifinall boilih'gpoiht'above 300fto'3'50=O C1 entail'slthatthedevices, in: which the' vapeur is procluce'cll,l haveto' becleaneol from timetoA time:.' Eurthermorey such deviceshave the drawback't'hat the -o-ilva'poursV produced cannot be' coolettV Without.'conl-v` densation', other Words nopermanent-oil! gas] is 'produced -'1Tntheconventional devices (gas generatora): for the production of permanent oilfi gases air isV supplied tothislend durihgvaporisa-- tion. leadsA inter alliatopartial ox'idatior'r of' the o'ilgasl butonly a' smalll fraction' of the-oalori'c'-' 'value' of the gasy i's= set free. In this-way it'- isfl possible tol pred'uce ar permanent. gas. Howeven all of the conventional' devices'v ha-Vevthe dra-vir-`` b'ack that either 'the' fornria'i'iony off? crackihgfr'esidues not prevented' or-no Steps' are taken to* ma=l` etl1ej crackihgresi'duesiormed:ihofien'sive.- -'The1 present` inventiorr has for its} object' to' suchi a degree that no ingi operatiorr* A I the generator according'to the invention-,f withres'pect' to thew production' ofIV` a' combusjtible permanentfY o=i1"-g,as', the oilE andthefairare'brought in counter-current, in intimate contact with' each. otherL and by supplyingl heat from without the parts!i of the generator, *where jsubstantially only the'lheavi'er oil fractionsf are present; jarei'kept' at atemperaturehavin'g' such' a :a-line thai-:thev solid' 'part'eof' the fue ultimat'ely left? oru'formed hjere" 0114i voi'f'' th'el fiie'l Ia-reat' least for the greater part convertecfl, xyf oxidation; into'gaseousficompo' Byl usinglopp'osi't'e directiohs )'f-''ff`'c\r ffr he; fuel and'fthe comlbustion air irr the generator according' tov thej invention the-easiIy' 'evaporat 1 ingf fracti'ons. after vaporisation, 'are carriedfi withsfthejaiiY-rcurrent in': a; direction; opposite to their; init-ial direction.: and; thefcasemayf he; locally oxidised. The remainingi-heavierv-fuel' fractions;A which; are, still: lquidtlceepimoring; inja direction opgpositev to; that: of? the air-3eurrentjniV the generator' ana steadiix; meet.: air: which; richerL exygentthan: theair met before. The-'fot `treulole is' experiencedj diiry-` heavier' f'ractiona. which do not ,evaporate inv the,- a-irficurrent and; in generatorszhaving the'conven-1 tional; construction, would give rise to the forma-fV tion:` ofV solid unburntre'sidues; finally find .their way to. the partof; the-.generator according to'the.. invention where; oWi'ngVt-o-the supply of heat-from: without. such: az iterrnrieratureV prevails that.. these: residuea. due: to this; high temperature aref cene. icert'edzin sitoas; much'y as; possible into,` gvaseous compolmdsiby' oxidation. ;The .advantageof: this:v comhustion due; to'the-supply' of heatiffromrwithr outl over' a construction. in: which the heat;- re.-;

` Ciuired: for' the:V comhnstionof these fractions is;

completely' derived; from: the .process taking.` place; inthe generator; consists in thatintheigenerator.

according to:v the: invention. a` z short.. measure of.. eombustion: aifr ;is; sufficient', so that.v the =.gas=; sproe f duceinthe. generator. is ari'ch gas... Experiments.: made; [bym us;` have, shown.. that; 'in the.v generator.- acicording to' the invention..a..supply of. air in the.

generator amounting.. for i-nstance,-l` of". from '5 to.'.1' 0;.%; of theair is necessaryfor com--v plete .combustion of'ithegas; produceicl .inithegenzerator, issufiicientw Inzadditionythe generator' according? to: the; .invention hin'edf.withua;ourner.:` M

:Thefisnpphfl of' heat-t'n'the: generator from-with? ont may' take:- place` in. various.: ways;V .Th'usjvfor instanca, the. .air .supplied :to the' .generator may:`

be heated prior to its entering the generator, Whichpreferably takes'plface bymeansofithe-fliie gas'es.4 off thefiburner which is: fed With'-` the gasl 'coming from.- the generator. As-an-alternatilve the generator`` itself may :be heated at'` thezloca-` offizthegenerator'part having a thicl wall at' the location of the heavi'er oilf-fractin's', it- :'is ani-' Visable tof'eed the' airfto the* generatorthrough a.l certain numheifilof' narro'w' apertures in thisl thiickewalled part; sicein this Way the airwhi-c'if mayfbecoldas'ethe case ma'r'zhe';v is' veryfstrorigly? part of'the generator` part' and zhein avoid; the. deposit of` carbon;v 1

g cooledf to`` is. suite'di to. be com-- ti'o'rr'of the/heavier oil--fralctionsi :According-lto'``A anotherA embodimentoff the' -inventi'o'h itis=t adsl visable' vthatat the location of vthe heavierffoi`y` fractions' the generator shouldbe'given a tl-ii'cllV Walii. or this: part .should 'be madenfrom a materiall' .having fa high thermal conductivit In the' 'case an'd -thez aifr are in counter-curreii7t,--- a vVerti'cafli position, the. fuel 'inleti'pipe emptying inthe upper" will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing given by way of example, in which several forms of construction of the generator according to the invention are represented diagrammatically.

Fig. 1 represents a generator substantially consisting of a vessel I having a comparatively narrow neck 2, and air-inlet duct 3, a fuel-supply duet 4 and an outlet duct 5 for the gas produced. In this form of construction the bottom 6 of the vessel l has a thick wall. The operation of this generator is as follows. The fuel spouts'from the supply duct 4, as indicated in dotted lines.Z In the neck 2 this liquid fuel meets the air entering the generator through the duct 3 via the narrow apertures 1 in the wall of the generator. This air is preheated, for instance, by the flue, gases of the burner (not represented) which is fed with the gas from the generator. Owing to the presence of this preheated air the lighter fractions evaporate from the fuel in the neck-2, and are partly oxidized, as `the case may baby-the rising air-current and carried off through the gas d'uct 5. The heavier fractions, on the contrary, do not evaporate directly,l penetrate further into the generator and, after acquiring the required temperature, they will evaporate and, asthe case may be, be partly oxidised; together with the airthey will rise in the generator and be carried off through the duet 5. The heavier fra'ctions reach the bottom 6 which, as shown 'by arrows B, isheated from without. The drops of heated fuel which are present in the bottom part of the generator and will consequently consist of .the heavier oil fractions as a rule, appear' to keep floatingsspheroidally above the bottom, and owing tothe .presence of air very rich'i'n Oxygen the vapours formed at this moment, usually cracking products, are entirely or .partly oxidised inv .air rich in oxygen. lT lltimately a solid residue substantially consisting of carbon is left onthe bottom B which,.in the course of time, is convei'ted' by oxidation into gaseous products due to the circulation of air in this part of the generator. Con-. sequently, thev said solid residues entirelyrdisappear due to oxidation. It is .desirable to 'supplyV thecombustion air tangentially to the' generator, whichis .apparently contributive to al suitable noixture of the combustion .air and the hydrocar-E The generator is preferably designed in such a manner that the whirl of air ensuing .in the bottompart of -the generator extends eccentrically with respect Vto the location where-the. liquid ldrops on the bottom. In this way the liquid drops are steadily kept moving. As 'a rule the bottom 6 will have atemperature above450.`C.=, preferably above 600 C. to vensure the desired effect. Of course, the lchoice of the temperature depends on the kindof fuel. i

The construction offthe generator: shown .in Fig. 2 Vsubstantially corresponds to that shownv in'Fig. 1 but for the difference that vessel IO with thenarrowing .neck-,H vhas a conicalbottom 12.l Tolpromote the whirling of air the apertures |3 for the inlet of air are located tangentially andV directed to the slanting part of the conical bot- 1 tom. O-wing to, the projecting edgelli aikind'; of whirlingchamber is formed at the bottom of the vessel IB, which highly promotes a suitable mix-- tureof fuel and air. Furthermore, in this .con- 1 struction. as also appears from the drawing, the air-inlet ducts |3 are provided. in. the thickwalled part of the vessel: |.0. On passing the apertures |3 the. air havingroom temperature'which. 1

shown in Fig. 9.

is fed through the pipe A5, is heated to, say, 500 C. The air derives heat from the wall of the vessel IO. In fact, as is indicated diagrammatically by arrows l6,-the bottom [2 of this vessel is kept at a high temperature. Thecapacity of this generator exceeds that of the generator Therefore, the fuel supply duct I'I is designed in such a manner as to spray the liquid fuel in several downwardly directed jets.

. bottom of these generators consists in that the 45: tothe required temperature.;.'

-strongly Aheated bottom is not appreciably cooled by the coldA fuel drops reaching the bottom. By g'ivi'ng the generator the shape of a vessel having a narrow or narrowing neck the risk is avoided of spattering fuel drops finding their way into the outlet duct for the gas.

Fig. 3 represents another form of construction of the generator according to the invention, which principally corresponds to the forms of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, butlfor the difference that this generator is more particularly gas-tight in regard tothe gasification of kinds of ash-containing oils. The generator comprises an hourglass-shaped housing 20, an air-inletduct 2|, a gas-Outlet duct 22, a fuel supply duct .23

and a thick-walled bottom 24. At the bottom the. housing 20 is vconnected to a vessel 25. Betweenv` the inner side of the Wall of .the housing 20 and. the vessel 25 on the onehand and the outer edge. i of the thick-walled bottom 24 on the other hand is provideda narrow slit 21. In the case of a fuel leaving an ash-residue being used in the generator, this residue, due to the air from the air supply duct 2! which enters the housing 20 through the aperturesV 26 for the inlet of air and initiates a `whirl inzthis housing, will be blown from the :bottom 24 over the slightly upstanding edge thereof -and ,will find. its ;way

through thev annular slit 21 into the vessel 25. which has to be emptied from time to timeflI'hefi space below the thick-walled bottom 24 contains a device (not represented) to heat the bottom'24 AnotherV form, of construction to which' air is supplied through the duet 32 and fuel through the duet 33. Consequently, thefuel and the air are in counter-currentl in the gener; ator, asindicated by arrows and in dotted lines. The combustible gas is withdrawn from the geny,

eratorthrough the duet 34.;The funnel-shaped air Venteririg through Vtheaduct 32. If unburnt residues shouldjdeposit on these particles the.

residues, as 'soon as the particles in question, due to stirring byA the air at agiven moment, 'such to the 'bottom of the funnel' 3 l, contact with the; freshzair, 'which isrprehea-ted; at a temperature.- of about ,500%l and passLover linto gaseousco'm-fV pounds. Similarly to Fig.-3 the liquid.particlesV` and theair particles in the funnel'are in counter-' current with each other. i

In `the construction .of the generator `shown'i'n'l Figs; 5 and-6 a rotary member 43 is provided between the mouth :of the fuel-supply duet' 4-I- "and :the air-supply duct 42.1and the solid residues from? i of. the generator according to the invention is shown in Fig. 4. In this case the generator 30 is shaped asa funnelVA I atom' of the yfunflisu is providia'f certain quantity O fsmall particles3l (globules;l grit orthezlike). which la/reisteadilystirred by the the fuels will deposit on this member. This member is rotatable in the direction of the arrow. It is impelled, for instance, by the solid fuel residues unilaterally depositing on this member, as a result of which the right-hand part of the member V43 becomes heavier than the left-hand part thereof, or by impelling it from without. In this case the solid fuel residues come automatically from surroundings poor in oxygen to a surrounding which is richer in oxygen, where these residues will consequently be burnt. In the construction shown in Fig. 6 the widened portion 44 of the generator housing, in which the lefthand part of the member 43 is rotatable, contains a scraper 45 by which any solid fuel parts left on the member 43 are removed therefrom. These particles drop and find their way into the bottom part of the generator where, due to the prevailing high temperature and the fresh air they are burnt, as a result of the external heating, without leaving any residues, or are at least converted into gaseous compounds.

What we claim is:

1. A method of generating combustible gas from liquid hydrocarbons containing differing oil fractions comprising the steps of introducing such liquid hydrocarbons downwardly and freely into an unobstructed generating space, introducing externally heated air upwardly into said generating space in a confined substantially straight stream to freely flow directly countercurrent to said freely falling liquid hydrocarbons for intimately mixing with and vaporizing the lighter fractions of said liquid hydrocarbons, permitting the unvaporized heavier fractions of said liquid hydrocarbons to Continue downwardly and freely until a heating area is reached, heating said heating area to a temperature above that of said heated air for oxidizing and Vaporizing said heavier oil fractions therein, and conducting a mixture of said vaporized lighter fractions of said hydrocarbons, said vaporized heavier fractions of said hydrocarbons, and said heated air from the top region of said generating space.

2. A generator for the production of combustible gas from liquid hydrocarbons containing differing oil fractions comprising a vessel having side walls, means for introducing liquid hydrocarbons into said vessel at a point substantially at the top of said vessel, said means being so located with regard to said side walls of said vessel that liquid hydrocarbons issuing from said means will normally fall freely for the depth of said. vessel before finally impinging on the bottom of said vessel, said bottom of said vessel being substantially thick, a plurality of narrow apertures in said vessel near the bottom ther-eof and directed towards said bottom, means for conducting air from outside said vessel through said apertures and into the bottom area of said vessel to impinge on said bottom, means for heating said bottom of said vessel, and gas outlet means at the top of said vessel whereby the air passing through said apertures is heated and then freely flows directly countercurrent to the liquid hydrocarbons introduced into said vessel for intimate mixing with and vaporization of the lighter oil fractions of the liquid hydrocarbons, the combustible gases thus produced pass off through said gas outlet means, and the heavier unvaporized oil fractions impinge on the heated bottom of said vessel where such oil fractions are ultimately oxidized into vapor to finally pass off through said gas outlet means.

3. A generator for the production of combustible gas from liquid hydrocarbons containing differing oil fractions comprising a vessel having a raised bottom above its true bottom, means for introducing liquid hydrocarbons into said vessel at a point substantially at the top of said vessel, said means being so located with regard to the walls of said vessel that liquid hydrocarbons issuing from said means will normally fall freely for the depth of said vessel before impinging on said raised bottom in said vessel, said raised bottom having upstanding edges, passage means laterally beyond said upstanding edges communicating the vessel space above said raised bottom with a vessel space below said raised bottom, means for introducing air into said vessel in the region just above said raised bottom, means for heating the underside of said raised bottom of said vessel, and gas outlet means at the top of said vessel whereby the air introduced into said vessel ilows counter-current to the liquid hydrocarbons introduced into said vessel for intimate mixing With and vaporization of the lighter oil fractions of the liquid hydrocarbons, the combustible gases thus produced pass off through said gas Outlet means, the heavier unvaporized oil fractions impinge on the heated lower portion of said vessel where such oil fractions collect and are ultimately oxidized into vapor to finally pass off through said gas outlet means, and any ash residue collecting on said raised bottom is blown past said upstanding edges by the air introduced into said vessel and into said passageway means to collect in said vessel space below said raised bottom.

WILLEM JAN VAN HEE'CKEREN. GERARD JAN HUBERTUS VERMEER. J OHAN LEONARD BAARTMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 606,998 McGowan July 5, 1898 737,738 Hitchcock Sept. 1, 1903 781,936 Cook Feb. 7, 1905 1,724,982 Trumble Aug. 20, 1929 1,950,900 McConnell Mar. 13, 1934 1,960,608 Weber et al May 29, 1934 1,984,380 Odell Dec. 18, 1934 FOREIGN PA'I'ENTS Number Country Date 513,947 Great Britain Oct. 26, 1939 

1. A METHOD OF GENERATING COMBUSTIBLE GAS FROM LIQUID HYDROCARBONS CONTAINING DIFFERING OIL FRACTIONS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF INTRODUCING SUCH LIQUID HYDROCARBONS DOWNWARDLY AND FREELY INTO AN UNOBSTRUCTED GENERATING SPACE, INTRODUCING EXTERNALLY HEATED AIR UPWARDLY INTO SAID GENERATING SPACE IN A CONFINED SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT STREAM TO FREELY FLOW DIRECTLY COUNTERCURRENT TO SAID FREELY FALLING LIQUID HYDROCARBONS FOR INTIMATELY MIXING WITH AND VAPORIZING THE LIGHTER FRACTIONS OF SAID LIQUID HYDROCARBONS, PERMITTING THE UNVAPORIZED HEAVIER FRACTIONS OF SAID LIQUID HYDROCABONS TO CONTINUE DOWNWARDLY AND FREELY UNTIL A HEATING AREA IS REACHED, HEATING SAID HEATING AREA TO A TEMPERATURE ABOVE THAT OF SAID HEATED AIR FOR OXIDIZING AND VAPORIZING SAID HEAVIER OIL FRACTIONS THEREIN, AND CONDUCTING A MIXTURE OF SAID VAPORIZED LIGHTER FRACTIONS OF SAID HYDROCARBONS, SAID VAPORIZED HEAVIER FRACTIONS OF SAID HYDROCARBONS, AND SAID HEATED AIR FROM THE TOP REGION OF SAID GENERATING SPACE. 